Alzheimer’s Disease

Lord Jenkin of Roding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much public money is spent annually on research into Alzheimer’s disease; and what is their estimate of the amount spent on such research by commercial and charitable sources.

Earl Howe: Since 2009-10, dementia research funded by Government through the National Institute for Health Research, the Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council has almost doubled, from £28.2 million to £52.2 million in 2012-13. Over the same period, funding by the charitable sector has increased, from £4.2 million to £6.8 million in the case of Alzheimer’s Research UK and from £2 million to £5.3 million in the case of the Alzheimer’s Society. Data on annual expenditure on dementia research by commercial sources are not available.

British Overseas Territories: Environment Protection

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the World Society for the Protection of Animals’ report “Cayman Turtle Farm: A Continued Case for Change”; and what measures they are taking to protect flora and fauna in all British Overseas Territories including the Cayman Islands.

Lord De Mauley: The Cayman Islands Government has constitutional responsibility for a large measure of self-government, including for decisions relating to the Cayman Turtle Farm. The recommendations in the publication are therefore the responsibility of the Cayman Islands Government. However, we note that the report contains inaccuracies about UK engagement in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the Overseas Territories, Mark Simmonds, is writing to the World Society for the Protection of Animals to bring these inaccuracies to its attention.
	The UK Government’s ambition is for the natural environments of the Overseas Territories (OTs) to be protected and managed to the highest international standards, as set out in our 2012 White Paper, “The Overseas Territories Security, Success and Sustainability”. OT Governments are constitutionally responsible for the protection and conservation of their natural environments and the UK Government works in
	partnership with them to identify where our support can be most effective. On 12 May 2014, the Government published an update to the Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy, which provides detail of the Government’s activities on biodiversity in the OTs.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Walton of Detchant: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposals for value-based assessments published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on 22 March 2014 on patients’ access to new cancer medicines.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect the new proposals for value-based assessments published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on 22 March 2014 have had on the availability of treatments to patients with (1) those forms of cancer which are more frequent in older people, and (2) rare types of cancer.

Earl Howe: A consultation on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) proposals for value assessment is ongoing and no decisions have yet been made about any potential changes to NICE’s methods of technology appraisal.
	The consultation will close on 20 June and we would encourage all those with an interest, including patients, clinicians, the National Health Service, industry, researchers and academic experts, to make their views known as part of this process.

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of refugees in the Central African Republic.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the long-term impact of the conflict in the Central African Republic on education there, particularly of girls, on higher education, and on the use of schools for military purposes.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what engagement they have had with the African Union on efforts to address the situation in the Central African Republic.

Baroness Northover: The ongoing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to take a distressing toll on the civilian population, compounding an already acute humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that 557,000 people have been displaced within CAR, with 483,000 estimated to have fled the country, of
	whom 358,000 are refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
	Prior to the crisis, CAR was host to over 15,000 refugees from DRC and Sudan; however the deteriorating security situation has led to the voluntary repatriation of many refugees with support from UNHCR. In April over 6,000 Congolese refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Equateur province in DRC—a further sign of the gravity of the situation in CAR.
	The crisis is having a marked impact on education provision, with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimating that 400,000 vulnerable children are in need of emergency access to education. Many schools outside the capital have been closed since the onset of the crisis and whilst some schools in Bangui have reopened, work on rebuilding educational institutions as well as infrastructure is needed. The Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment in January 2014 placed the level of functioning schools at 4%, with many looted and occupied by displaced people, but did not report military use of schools. The interruption of education affects both girls and boys.
	The most important need continues to be security, and the UK has worked closely with international partners, including the African Union (AU), to support efforts to bring stability to the country. We have provided £2m in non-lethal support to the UN-mandated AU force, MISCA, which despite serious challenges, has worked well with the French Operation Sangaris to bring some security to the country. We will continue to work with the AU and others as we approach the handover to the UN Peace Keeping Operation, MINUSCA, in September 2014, and as preparations are made for elections, currently scheduled for 2015.

Dentistry

Lord Colwyn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in preventing a shortfall of dental foundation training places from occurring in 2014 and in ensuring that positions will be found for final year students who have yet to be allocated a place.

Earl Howe: Health Education England (HEE) are funding more training places than the number of students forecast to graduate from dental schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the 2014 recruitment. London Shared Services is leading the recruitment process on behalf of HEE for the Dental Foundation Training programme and they are currently half way through this process.
	HEE have said that more places will become available as a result of students who have accepted posts and are now deferring or have failed their final examinations.

Dentistry

Lord Colwyn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the proposed reduction in the salaries of dental foundation trainees will have on the financial circumstances of young dentists.

Earl Howe: The Department is still considering the responses received to the recent consultation on the dental foundation trainee salary. One of the factors the Department will take into consideration will be the impact the proposed change will have on the financial circumstances of trainee dentists.

Dyspraxia

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve support for children and adults with dyspraxia, a form of developmental co-ordination disorder.

Earl Howe: It is for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to assess the needs of the local populations they serve. CCGs work with their local providers to gain an understanding of the nature of local provision, and the part it should play in their future commissioning plans.
	The Children and Families Act has introduced new arrangements for supporting young people with a special educational need and disability, including dyspraxia, and their families. A single assessment involving professionals and commissioners, and the child’s family, will identify the care needs for the child or young person (from ages 0 to 25) to inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.
	The Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people should be supported to achieve their best, regardless of their disability or circumstances. The new special educational needs and disability (SEND) Code of Practice due to come into force in September, sets out clear guidance for educational settings on the process for appropriate identifying, assessing and securing further support for children with SEND which can include those with dyspraxia. Through the Code we are ensuring all educational settings have arrangements in place for monitoring the progress of all pupils and responding quickly to their needs.
	Chapter 6 of the draft Code of Practice makes specific reference to dyspraxia amongst examples of conditions that educational settings should be aware of when planning SEND provisions.

Energy: Prices

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the first Contracts for Difference auction to take place; when they expect the Offtaker of Last Resort to be operational; whether those dates have changed from the dates given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013; and if so, why.

Baroness Verma: The policy design of the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) is at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD) expected in October 2014, with regulations on schedule to be in place when the first CfDs are signed towards the end of 2014 or in early 2015. Consequently, CfD applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, in advance of the first auctions. This is consistent with the commitments about the timing of the OLR given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013.

Energy: Prices

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the different financing structures of independent generators as compared to the large vertically integrated utilities in the development of the proposal to introduce Contracts for Difference auctioning; and whether any concerns have been raised by independent generators as to their competitive position in the event that Contracts for Difference auctioning is introduced before the Offtaker of Last Resort is operational.

Baroness Verma: My officials have worked closely with developers and financial institutions in working up the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) proposals in order to meet the needs of independent renewable generators. The policy design is at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD) applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, in advance of the first auctions.
	The move to competitive allocation of CfDs has been a long-standing feature of Electricity Market Reform. In early 2014, Government consulted on proposals to move straight to competitive allocation for some technologies, during which a number of independent renewable generators raised concerns that they had less certainty of their costs than Vertically Integrated Utilities and were therefore faced with a higher financial risk that might undermine their ability to win a CfD through a competitive process. In the Government’s response, we set out our expectation that the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market will evolve such that PPAs could be signed on a conditional basis, providing greater cost certainty for independent renewable generators.

Energy: Prices

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have that “PPAs [Power Purchase Agreements] could be signed on a conditional basis before a strike price needs to be submitted, allowing independent generators to receive indicative financing terms from lenders”, as stated in paragraph 25, page 12, of their response on competitive allocation.

Baroness Verma: The Government’s response to the consultation on competitive allocation set out its expectation that the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market will evolve such that PPAs could be signed on a conditional basis. We have discussed this with stakeholders and have identified no significant barriers that prevent conditional Power Purchase Agreements being agreed prior to the allocation of Contracts for Difference. Furthermore, some PPA participants have since confirmed that they are prepared to consider approaches from generators on this basis. Ultimately, any decision to offer a Power Purchase Agreement will be a commercial decision for both parties.

Energy: Prices

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the consultation on the proposal to introduce Contracts for Difference auctioning was published; when the European Commission adopted the final state aid guidelines for environmental protection and energy for 2014–2020; and when the Government’s response to the consultation was published.

Baroness Verma: The move to competitive allocation of Contracts for Difference has been a long-standing feature of Electricity Market Reform. In early 2014, the Government consulted on proposals to move straight to competitive allocation for some technologies. This consultation ran from 16 January 2014 to 12 February 2014; the Government’s response was published on 13 May 2014.
	EU Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020 were adopted in principle on 9 April 2014. Prior to that adoption, the Commission worked with member states on the development of the guidelines, including draft versions and receiving comments.

Financial Services: Education

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to ensure that financial education is taught, to a high standard, in non-state-maintained secondary schools.

Lord Nash: Independent Schools in England do not have to follow the national curriculum, though they do have to have a curriculum which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education.
	We will shortly be consulting on strengthening the standards which independent schools must meet, but there are no plans to introduce a requirement on financial education.

Financial Services: Education

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what commitments they have made to provide adequate funding for the training that secondary mathematics
	and citizenship teachers will need to meet the new financial education requirements from September 2014.

Lord Nash: The Government is committed to developing a strong culture of professional development in schools for all national curriculum subjects, including citizenship and mathematics.
	We have allocated £11 million to fund 30 new maths hubs to improve the quality of maths teachers from primary school onwards. This initiative will enable every school and college in England, from early years to the post-16 sector, to access locally-tailored and quality support in all areas of maths teaching and maths learning. To further support teachers, Liz Moorse from the Association for Citizenship Teaching is chairing an expert group on citizenship. The expert group will clarify the key areas in which teachers most need further support. The expert group will then liaise with relevant specialists and providers to develop and produce new resources where necessary.

Football: World Cup

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are making any representations concerning the choice of Qatar as the host of the World Cup in 2022 in the light of recent allegations of corruption.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: There is an investigation taking place into the bidding process and we should wait and see what this reports rather than prejudge it. We expect FIFA, and all other major sports organisations, to practise good governance and operate in a transparent manner.

General Practitioners

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there exists a standard contract for general practitioners working within the National Health Service; and if so, whether they will place a copy of that contract in the Library of the House.

Earl Howe: NHS England has responsibility for commissioning National Health Service primary medical services.
	NHS England has an NHS England Standard General Medical Services contract, which covers around half the GP practices. A copy of the contract is available at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/commissioning/gp-contract/
	NHS England also intend to provide a standard Personal Medical Services contract.

Government Departments: Legal Opinion

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent in each financial year since 2011 by each government department on external legal advice.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Expenditure on external legal advice is a matter for individual departments. As part of the Government’s transparency programme, contracts above the value of £10,000 are available on Contracts Finder at: (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Departmental spending over £25,000 is published in departmental Annual Reports on (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications).

Leigh’s Disease

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why funding for the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure was withdrawn by NHS England in the case of Jake Foster who suffers from Leigh's disease.

Earl Howe: Since 1 April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for commissioning specialised services. As a procedure, Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) falls within this remit.
	SDR is not typically considered as a treatment for patients with Leigh’s Disease. For this reason, NHS England has not to date considered developing or publishing a policy on the use of SDR for this condition.

Medals

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any gallantry awards other than the Victoria Cross and the George Cross can be awarded posthumously.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: All military and civilian gallantry awards may be awarded posthumously.

Migration Advisory Committee

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current membership and remit of the Migration Advisory Committee; on what criteria they appoint its members; and whether they have plans to review those criteria and its remit with a view to tasking the Committee with examining immigration and its impact in the round.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is comprised of economists and migration experts who serve as a chair and committee members. They are appointed to support the remit of the Committee, which is to provide independent and evidence-based advice to the Government on migration issues. Professor Sir David Metcalf is the Chair and is supported by 4 members; Dr Martin Ruhs, Professor Jonathan Wadsworth, Dr Jennifer Smith and Professor Jackline Wahba.
	Lesley Giles of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and John Thompson, the Director of Immigration Policy in the Home Office, also sit on the Committee as ex-officio members.
	The Chair and Committee members are public appointments made in line with guidance issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The current criteria for membership are:
	Essential criteria
	* Expertise in economics, preferably labour markets.
	* Quantitative analytical skills.
	* Strong written skills—experience of producing evidence based reports.
	* Building effective working relationships with a wide range of groups.
	Desirable criteria
	* Ability to work as part of a team.
	* Knowledge of non-UK migration data and policies.
	There are no plans to change or review the remit or the criteria for appointment to the MAC.

Minor Injuries Units: Cannock Chase

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in respect of the proposed reduction in service at the Cannock Chase Minor Injuries Unit.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the changes to service provision at the Cannock Chase Minor Injuries Unit on emergency departments in Staffordshire and Wolverhampton.

Earl Howe: The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the National Health Service. All service changes should be led by clinicians and be in the best interests of patients, not driven from the top down.
	We are aware that local general practitioners in Cannock Chase Clinical Commissioning Group are currently developing proposals for the future configuration of the Cannock Chase Minor Injuries Unit. Any proposed service redesign would be subject to public consultation in due course. No decisions on the future of the unit have been made yet.

Overseas Students: Entry Clearances

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many non-European Union students came to the United Kingdom (1) in the last year, and (2) in the previous year; what are the numbers for the top 20 countries involved; what bodies advise the Government on the issue of visas for student entry to the United Kingdom; and, what assessment they have made of the operation of the current college inspection system.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The information requested, relating to visas granted, is given in the table below.
	
		
			 Entry clearance visas issued for Study 
			 Top 20 nationalities in the year ending March 2014, compared to the year ending March 2013. 
			 Country of nationality Year ending March 2014 Year ending March 2013 
			 China 62,351 57,631 
			 United States 14,146 13,773 
			 India 13,172 15,861 
			 Nigeria 11,582 10,926 
			 Malaysia 10,036 8,135 
			 Saudi Arabia 9,942 9,469 
			 Hong Kong 9,675 8,850 
			 Thailand 4,866 4,533 
			 Pakistan 4,820 8,924 
			 Russia 4,619 4,205 
			 Korea (South) 4,316 4,145 
			 Brazil 3,996 1,983 
			 Libya 3,781 2,049 
			 Iraq 3,772 2,615 
			 Canada 3,713 3,492 
			 Japan 3,275 3,064 
			 Taiwan 3,255 3,246 
			 Singapore 3,109 2,747 
			 Bangladesh 3,033 2,797 
			 Vietnam 2,980 2,993 
			 Other 38,614 35,324 
			 Total 219,053 206,762 
		
	
	Notes:
	- Study visas comprise those issued under Tier 4 and pre-PBS equivalents.
	- The number of visas granted in a period does not directly equate to the number of individuals arriving in that period.
	- Figures exclude Student Visitors.
	- Figures include dependants.
	Source: table be_06_q_s, Immigration Statistics January-March 2014, Before Entry Volume 4.
	The information is based on the latest published Home Office immigration statistics which are available from the Library of the House and on the Department's website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2014
	The Government engages with a range of bodies, including the Joint Education Taskforce about the
	student visa system although they do not formally advise the Government on the issue of visas for student entry to the United Kingdom. The Government works closely with the bodies that inspect colleges, including the Quality Assurance Agency and the Independent Schools Inspectorate but has not made any formal assessment of the operation of the current college inspection system.

Parkinson’s Disease

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that clinicians making Individual Funding Requests for the prescription of Duodopa to people with Parkinson’s are informed of the outcome within 40 days.

Earl Howe: From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.
	NHS England has advised that it does not routinely fund Duodopa (co-careldopa) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Clinicians can submit individual funding requests for this treatment on behalf of their patients as per NHS England’s individual funding requests standard operating procedure, which is at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-04.pdf
	NHS England has advised that its individual funding request process is monitored against the standard operating procedure to ensure that referring clinicians are informed of outcomes in a timely manner.

Parkinson’s Disease

Baroness Gale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that recommendations by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group on the prescription of Duodopa for people with Parkinson’s have been developed with public and patient engagement.

Earl Howe: The operation of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) is a matter for NHS England. NHS England has advised that the CPAG is chaired by a lay member and has four public members as part of its core membership.
	The draft policy on Duodopa was developed by the Neurosciences Clinical Reference Group, which has four patient/carer members. Registered patient and public stakeholders had an opportunity to share their views and comment on this draft policy before it was considered by CPAG.
	CPAG has made recommendations to NHS England. NHS England’s decision on whether Duodopa should be routinely commissioned will be subject to 12 weeks public consultation.

Police: Defamation

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether public funds are used by the Police Federation to support defamation litigation.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Funding provided by the Government to the Police Federation of England and Wales may only be used for specific purposes. These are to pay part of the salaries of its principal officers, and to support their statutory function in negotiating the pay of police officers.
	As the Home Secretary announced on 21 May, all Government funding provided to the Police Federation will cease by August this year.

Pupil Exclusions

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of the latest two years for which figures are available, how many of the pupils excluded from academies were admitted to local authority schools.

Lord Nash: Information on the number of exclusions from academies in England in the 2010/11[1] and 2011/12[2] academic years is available in table 16 of the “Permanent and fixed period exclusions from schools in England” statistical first releases for each year.
	Information on the number of excluded pupils that were admitted to local authority schools is not held by the Department.
	Academies are bound by their funding agreements to comply with the statutory requirements on admissions and the Admissions Code as if they were a maintained school. Schools, including academies, cannot refuse to admit pupils on the grounds of past behaviour unless they have received two or more permanent exclusions.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-academic-year-2010-to-2011
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-2011-to-2012-academic-year

Railways

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the European Union Fourth Railway Package is likely to preclude nationalisation or re-nationalisation of national railways as a whole or in part.

Baroness Kramer: The proposals published by the European Commission on 30 January 2013 would, if adopted, strengthen requirements for the formal separation of infrastructure manager and train operator responsibilities. The proposals make no assumption about the status of the infrastructure manager. They do, however, require the competitive tendering of rail public service contracts in most circumstances.
	There is no particular bar on public companies competing for such tenders, and exemptions to tendering are proposed for small networks and in emergency situations.
	The Italian Council Presidency (Jul-Dec 2014) intends to start Member State level Working Groups about the market opening proposals in July. As these proposals are still under discussion it is too early to say what we think the effect is likely to be.

Schools: Discipline

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have observed any correlation between bad behaviour in schools and the absence of a specified dress code for (1) pupils, and (2) teachers.

Lord Nash: The Government does not have any evidence of any correlation between bad behaviour in schools and the absence of a specified dress code for pupils and teachers.
	The Department for Education has issued advice that strongly encourages schools to have a uniform, as it can play a valuable role in contributing to the ethos of a school and setting an appropriate tone. However, it is for the governing body of a school (or the academy trust in the case of academies and free schools) to decide whether there should be a uniform policy and other rules on appearance. This flows from the duties placed upon all governing bodies by statute to ensure that school policies promote good behaviour and discipline among the pupil body.
	Dress codes for teachers are a matter for employers to determine, whether that is the governing body, academy trust or local authority. As part of the general terms and conditions of employment agreed with
	employees we would expect schools to consider an appropriate dress code, relevant to the individual setting, taking into account the requirements of the post.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have called in the approval of planning permission for a site for Travellers in Brighton, granted by the South Downs National Park; and if so, when they will make a decision.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: This application remains under consideration by the Secretary of State in response to a request by the hon. Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley) for the application to be called in. The consideration is being made against the Secretary of State’s policy, as set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 26 October 2012, Official Report, Column 72W. The Secretary of State is very selective about calling in applications and will generally only do so if they raise issues of more than local importance. I will arrange for departmental officials to let the noble Lady know the outcome in due course.

War Memorials

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that war memorials around the United Kingdom are kept in good condition.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: There is a wide range of support available for the repair, conservation and protection of war memorials from the Memorials Grant Scheme run by DCMS, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the War Memorials Trust, English Heritage and others. In addition, the Government has announced an additional £5 million to ensure that war memorials and significant burial sites are in a good condition for the centenary. Further details will be announced in due course.